Player Comments from 1998 Media Day
8/14/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
1998 Michigan Football Media Day Press Conference
SENIOR OL JON JANSEN
On summer workouts and the start of practice
The team is looking really good. We did all of our strength and conditioning and it looks like a lot of things paid off for a lot of guys this summer. The time we put in was a lot of fun and now we're looking to go forward. One of the things we had was we had everybody stay here. I think we only had one or two guys go home. That's a big key, just to have guys stay here. One of the things that happens in the summer is if the young guys can get a chance to come in you get a chance to gel as a new team, get a new continuity going. That's really what's going to be the biggest factor I think more than anything in what we do this year.
On what he takes from last year into 1998
Over the last couple of years -- the 8-4 seasons, last year -- one of the things we've always thought through last is to take one game at a time. One thing we have up in our meeting rooms is to expect nothing. We don't expect anything from anybody. That's how we're kind of taking this this year. We're going to take it one game at a time and expect that nothing is going to go right for us so we'll have to do it ourselves.
On the younger members of the offensive line
They've come a long way. I have faith that whoever backs us up, when they come in we won't lose a step. What I try to do is pass what I know, my experiences, along to those guys, and try and get them to come along like they have. I'm really happy with what they've done and what the whole offensive line is looking like.
On going into the season ranked behind Ohio State
We don't mind that at all. That's been the situation for a long time so that's really nothing new. Plus, rightfully so, they should be No. 1. They have the most talent coming back of anybody in the country so if I were to write a magazine, I'd put them at No. 1 too. They have a lot of talent coming back. They have a their big-time players coming back. We lost a couple of big-time players. Whether they have more talent or not coming back, I don't know, but they definitely have some of the most.
On the possibility of complacency following a championship season
That's always something that you want to watch out for but I think we 've had a really good summer. I think the freshmen have had a really good summer. They've come along. They learned from a lot of those fifth-year guys last year what to do, what they needed to do -- as well as we all did -- so I don't think that right now that's an issue.
On the season opener at Notre Dame
I can't wait. I think we only had one guy from our class that traveled (the last time the teams met in South Bend in 1994) and obviously nobody played so it's going to be a new experience for everybody. It's a great rivalry. It's going to be new for us and it's going to be exciting. You always want to start off the season hard and with a good effort, so no matter who you're playing against, you want to start the season good. To be able to start off with a win would be great and to be able to start off with Notre Dame, one of the best rivalries, will be exciting for both teams.
On repeating as national champions
We haven't talked about repeating. What we want to do is be the best team that we can possibly be. If that were the situation at the end of the season, that would be great, but we'll have to wait until the end of the year to see that.
On what the biggest factors for another successful season are
We lost some skilled guys, but at Michigan, you have a lot of skilled guys to fill those spots. One of the things you don't always have though is leadership, and last year we lost five guys that were great leaders on the team. We need to find out as a senior class what we're going to do to be leaders on this year's team.
On entering the season as defending national champions
Whenever you go into anybody's stadium, as Michigan there's always a target on your back but to go in as the defending national champ, that probably does make that target a little bigger. But that's part of the excitement of playing at Michigan and playing college football.
On sophomore Maurice Williams moving from defense to the offensive line
Mo is a guy that has great feet, great athletic ability. This year, next year, whenever he gets a chance to play, he's going to be a great offensive lineman. He was going to be a great defensive lineman. He's just a great athlete and I think that wherever you put a great athlete, he's going to excel.
On practicing against the Michigan defense
We're very fortunate as an offense to be able to practice against what I feel is the best defense in the country. I hope that by the end of the year or sometime along the year that we can give them as good of a look as they give us. That defintely helps us as an offense to be able to play against those guys.
On the possibility of having a freshman at quarterback
We don't know him now but in three weeks, we will know him. Two-a-days is one of those things where you're with the guys for 24 hours a day. You learn a lot about a guy -- his strengths, his weaknesses, what he needs help on, what he can help you with. To say in three weeks he's going to be an unfamiliar guy would probably be incorrect. We're going to know a lot about him and he's going to know a lot about us.
SENIOR P JASON VINSON
On what he worked on over the summer
I've gone to some more camps this summer (in Gainesville, Fla.). I've worked on directional punting, trying to be a little more accurate pooch punter. And I did some placekicking as well.
On his assessment of his performance last year
My average did fall toward the end of the year. I'm not exactly sure why. I got away from my form toward the end of the year. I had to go and relearn my form that I had learned last summer. So that was my goal this summer -- to get back to the form that I had preseason.
On the mental makeup necessary for a punter
It takes blocking out everything. I really don't hear anything that's going on. I can't hear our fullback's calls. It's total focus. Other than that, there are so many factors involved with just me that if I think about anything else, if I think about any tactic that I need to do, I won't do well.
SENIOR TE JERAME TUMAN
On what he expects from himself this season
I think any player that it's their last season, especially a fifth-year guy, you put a lot into it. You always expect your best. You always expect to finish on your best note. We put a lot of work into it this summer and hope to finish on a real good note.
On the possibility of the tight end's role changing this year
I think our offense is going to have some new wrinkles, but I don't think they're going to do anything to change the role of the tight end. It will be the same. This offense will have a lot of weapons. It's never been designed for one person. That's the greatest thing about it. If they cover one man, that leaves another man open. I think this year we'll have a lot of weapons to utilize that.
On how to put last season behind him and concentrate on 1998
To go on and to progress, you have to put what you did behind you or you're going to stay the same or get worse. I think we still have to instill in the younger players what we learned. I think we put what happened behind us; I don't think we put what we learned, how to play Michigan football behind us. We keep those values and we keep what it takes to win.
On the keys to success
I think the key to being successful is how well your team comes together, how well you bond. There have been plenty of teams with unbelievable athletes and for some reason they don't win. I think the reason is that they don't come together as a team. I think in order to be successful, you have to come together and be a close unit. I think the greatest thing about this team is that everyone hangs out with everyone. We've got a really close team and everyone gets along. No matter who it is or what position it is, there's a little bonding between each and every player.
On comparing senior QB Tom Brady to last year's QB, Brian Griese
Brady compares to Griese in that he's a real intelligent guy. Brady has a really strong arm. He can throw the deep ball really well. I think the way they compare is the way they think. They're real smart. He (Brady) may have a little stronger arm than Griese.
On what motivates the team this year I think what motivates this team is the changing of the guard. It's a new team. And that's what makes it fun. We've got new guys, new people playing new roles, and just to see how things develop. I think actually what motivates us is the actual game of football. People here love to play the game. That's why we're here and that's why we practice the way we practice and go through what we go through here. I think the actual love for the game is what motivates us.
On the possibility of a fear factor this year
There's no fear. We're not going to be afraid to lose. We're going to give our best effort. We're going to work hard. The thing about it is there are so many players back who know what it takes to win. But I don't think any one of those players has a fear of failing or losing.
SENIOR ILB SAM SWORD
On being one of three Wolverines listed as Butkus Award candidates
For us, it's a great honor to be named among best linebackers in country, but we can't really concentrate on winning the Butkus. Our main focus has to be to go out and do whatever we can to help this team win. Individual awards are good, but the team's success if the most important thing to us.
On the possibility of a fear factor
We're going to keep the past behind us. This year we're 0-0. I feel there's a sense of urgency. Everyone is excited to be back. And to just think about the type of team we're capable of having. Just because we have nine starters back on defense doesn't mean we're going to be as good as we were last year. That's going to be a great challenge for this team and our defense to go out and gel together and try to duplicate what we did last year.
On facing some option quarterbacks this year
Preparing for the option is tough. You saw last year, we had problems with Wisconsin. Teams are going to utilize that until we prove we can stop it. That's something we're going to have to work on, but it's a great challenge for us.
Senior QB SCOTT DREISBACH
On his health
I feel really good. I worked hard all summer to make that I came in to two-a-days in good shape and as strong as possible.
On his role changing during his college career On the attention focused on freshman QB Drew Henson On the competition for the quarterback job On needing to prove something this year as a team On the improvements he has made since last year On returning to his home state for the opener at Notre Dame JUNIOR QB TOM BRADY On what he has learned from senior QB Scott Dreisbach On having a chance to be a starter this year On the attention focused on freshman QB Drew Henson On the difference between the high school and college games On possibility of starting at Notre Dame in season opener On needing to prove something this year as a team On the improvements he has made since last year Contact: David Ablauf, Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
I've played every role here. I want to start back over and be back on the field and help out the team any way possible. I don't know what role they're going to want me to play this year, what role I'm going to fit into, but I'm going to use my leadership and use my experience to help out everybody on the team.
It is tough to change your roles and to be the signal caller and to sit on the bench. It's not the same. No one wants that. It's a script I wouldn't have written for myself. God deals in different ways and I'm still here and I feel real good going into camp.
I'm happy for him. He's a great talent. He's very talented and he's going to be a big asset to this team. None of us had that hype coming in. Maybe it's a distraction, maybe it's not. Maybe it will help him out, maybe it will push him. We don't know. He's going to learn from us and we're going to teach him as much as we can. He's one of us now. And we're a tight-knit group and he's just going to be pulled into the mix.
It's not something that hating each other or talking behind each other's back is going to determine who's going to start. It's going to be done on the field. Competition can either be friendly, which we like to do because we like to joke around with each other. I can't control what he does when he's under center and he can't control what I do. So we try to do it friendly because we're a team and that's why we did so well last year because we were such a tight-knit group.
You always have to prove something. We don't want it to be a one year and out thing. We want to go in and from hereon out, have winning teams, have undefeated seasons. We are going to set our standards by what we did last year and we're not settle for anything less. So we're trying to prove it to ourselves and everybody else. That's something that we want to prove to ourselves that we can do it again, that hard work does pay off.
My strength and my speed -- those two parts are something I really focused on.
It's going to be great. I went there freshman year. Somebody said that I was the only freshman that went. So I'm the only one that's been in the stadium. It's a tough place to play. I grew up going to all the Notre Dame games. They have really good fans, really supportive fans. It's going to be a tough place to open up.
On the competition for the starting quarterback job
We've had a lot of good quarterbacks that have come through here. Basically what you try to do is try to learn from older guys and try to emulate what they do. Being here for as long as I have, you get comfortable and start to feel your role for this team.
I've learned a lot. Scott has dealt with a lot of adversity being here. He's played some great games and he's fought through it all. You've got to respect him as a competitor and as a friend.
I never thought that I wouldn't get an opportunity. I think everyone who is at this school is here for a reason and everyone is talented. When you decide to come to a school like Michigan, you realize that there are great players here, and you realize that if you want to be the best, you've got to beat out the best. And it's no different this year.
Drew has been here this summer, and he's felt his way around this program a little bit. He's a very level-headed kid, very talented obviously. He's just going to be a great addition to this team and he's going to do very well here, I'm sure. You've got to be happy for Drew. He's a great player, and when you're a great player, like all great players who've come through here, you get the media attention. It's something great. It only last for a couple years so you might as well take advantage and have a lot of fun with it.
It's a totally different level of play. The best kids that were in high school are maybe backups in college. And if you play at a great program, you see a couple more great players, but it nowhere compares to the level of a championship team like the University of Michigan or Ohio State or Michigan State. It's a very tough adjustment.
I think that's the challenge that any player wants. You want to be put in a situation that's very difficult. South Bend would probably be the toughest place to play a season opener, but that's the challenge I'm faced with. And that's the challenge that all the quarterbacks are faced with, so you either learn to deal with it or you don't. And I think that with some visualization and just going out and preparing in the next three weeks that that will get you ready to play.
Every day you go out to practice you've got to prove something. You've got to prove something to your teammates. You've got to be prepared and ready to go. I think the pressure of defending a national championshp is pretty tough but I think that's a situation that we all like to be in.
I think I've just matured another year and I've just kind of learned the system a little better, learned the pass protection, and I've become more of a leader on the field, more of a confident player.
